Spider Cupcakes Recipes

SPICED SPIDER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
• Combine flour, white sugar, baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in bowl; whisk to mix. In separate bowl, mix water, canola oil, vinegar, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Pour liquids into dry mixture and stir until smooth. The batter will be very thin.
• Transfer batter into a measuring cup or pitcher; pour batter into prepared cupcake pans.
• Bake in preheated oven until tops spring back when gently pressed with a fingertip and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Beat cream cheese, butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually mix in confectioners' sugar until frosting is creamy and spreadable. Frost the cooled cupcakes.
• To decorate cupcakes, use black decorating gel to draw a small circle in the center of each cupcake. Draw a larger circle around the first, and continue making larger circles until the last circle is about 1/4 inch from the edge. There should be about 5 rings on each cupcake. Use a toothpick to draw about 8 lines radiating from the center of the cupcake to the edge, like spokes on a wheel, to make webs.
• Cut the licorice strings into pieces about 1 1/4 inch long for legs. Poke four licorice legs into both sides of each gumdrop. Use decorating gel to make eyes and a smiley mouth on each gumdrop. Place a gumdrop spider onto each cupcake in the center of the webs.

SPIDER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Prepare cake mix batter according to package directions. , Fill 24 paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 21-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For frosting, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. , Cool to 110°. Transfer to a large bowl. Beat until thickened and mixture begins to lose its gloss, about 8 minutes. , Cut large marshmallows in half crosswise; place a half on each cupcake. Frost marshmallow and top of cupcake. Dip cupcakes in sprinkles. Place a dab of frosting on each miniature marshmallow and press on to cupcakes. Place a dab of frosting on each M&M and press on to marshmallows for eyes. , For spider legs, use a metal or wooden skewer to poke four holes on opposite sides of cupcakes; insert a piece of licorice into each hole.

SPIDER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Prepare cupcakes according to package directions. Let cool completely.
• Cut licorice into 3 inch sections. Working with one or two cupcakes at a time, so the frosting doesn't set before decorating, frost the cupcakes with the white frosting. Insert licorice pieces into the outer edges of the cupcakes to make the legs of the spider, 3 legs on each side (4 takes up too much space). Place two pieces of candy corn on the front of the cupcake for fangs and use two red hots as eyes. Sprinkle with decorator sugar. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.

RED VELVET SPIDER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake tins with 18 cupcake liners.
• Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
• With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs. Mix in the buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. On low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture until just blended (do not overbeat!). Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them two-thirds full.
• Bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the tins on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from the tins; cool completely.
• Remove part of the center of each cupcake, going in only halfway.
• For the frosting: In a stand mixer, whip the butter until light and creamy. Slowly whisk in the confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time, scrapping down the bowl as needed. Add the cream, vanilla and salt and whisk until light and fluffy.
• Transfer the frosting to a piping bag. Pipe frosting into the hollowed out center of each cupcake and then swirl around to cover the top. Arrange white cotton candy in a puffy bunch on top of the cupcakes. Top with a black fondant spider.

SPIDER CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Sift together the flour and baking soda and set aside. In a mixer fitted with a whip attachment, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Then add both sugars and continue mixing to cream them together. Add the eggs gradually and let them thoroughly mix in. Add the melted unsweetened chocolate and mix in well. Add the vanilla and 1/3 of the yogurt and mix, then add half the dry ingredients, and mix in well. Repeat alternating wet and dry, ending with wet.
• Pour batter into a muffin tins, lined with cupcake papers, filling them 3/4 full. Bake until firm to the touch on the cap of the cupcakes, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan, then decorate.
• To make the cupcakes into spiders, frost with your favorite chocolate frosting glue 2 flat chocolate buttons on the top of the cupcake as eyes. Pipe a large white dot on lower half of each button then stick on the chocolate chips, then pipe a tiny white dot on the tip of the chip. In red, pipe a smile and to make them tarantulas, pipe a red hourglass shape on its back. Cut black liquorice into 3-inch long pieces and tuck 8 of them into the rim of the cupcake cap to make legs.
• To serve the cupcakes, with black frosting pipe a spider web onto a middle of a large white plate and place the spiders around the edge.
• Notes about the recipe: I always buy the large tub of plain yogurt because it's so much cheaper than buying all those small ones, and the next thing I know, it's gone moldy for lack of attention. So this is a good place to use a large quantity of it up. You can use sour milk instead or sour your own by squeezing a good amount of lemon juice into whole milk and letting it stand 2 minutes to curdle and sour.
• Here's proof that there is something even cuter than a cupcake. Princess Diana's butler, Paul Burrell, taught me how to turn cupcakes into spiders. He made these on the Princes' birthdays, as part of a complete bug theme party with a big ladybug cake and cheese pastries coiled up like snails, with antennae made of chives. I make them for my prince's birthdays; my son Gio loves them.